Ancient Cities are extremely dangerous, yet exhilarating to explore. This forgotten bastion of civilization is overrun with Sculk, andMinecraftplayers who are brave enough to head into the deep dark might want to know what to expect in terms of dangers and loot that they can obtain, so that they can determine whether it’s worth a venture.
Ancient Cities are home to the terrifying Warden, an enemy that is near-unkillable and the ultimate deadly mob inMinecraft. Luckily, there’s a way to safely navigate through the Ancient City and ensure the Warden never spawns again, so here are some helpful tips toget players through the terrors.
How to Find Ancient Cities in Minecraft
Ancient Cities are found exclusively around Y level -51 inDeep Dark cave biomes, so the best way to find them is to enter a naturally generated cave and follow it far down into the -50 zones. Players will now know they are near an Ancient City if they hear the strange music associated with it, along with the creepy Sculk blocks around the area. Ancient Cities aren’t the most common, but they aren’t extremely rare, so simply exploring enough natural caves will see players stumble upon one eventually, so long as they are on the right Y level.
Mobs cannot spawn in Ancient Cities.
How to Sneak Around the Ancient City
It’s vitally important that players sneak walk (Shift/R3) through the Ancient City, as the acts of sprinting or even walking normally will be detected by the Sculk Sensor blocks, which could spawn a Warden. To safely sneak around the Ancient City, players will want to try and grab a few things, with the first being carpets and wool. The Ancient City isfilled with wool and carpetsthat can be easily mined with Shears, and placing these blocks will not make a sound, meaning players can travel on wool or use it to build stairs without the Sculk Sensors detecting it.
Wool is also essential for snuffing out Sculk Sensors and Sculk Shriekers, as the wool blocks the Sculk Sensor signal, meaning players can completely cover the Sensor or Shrieker in wool to render it useless. The second thing players will want is Swift Sneak 3, which is an Enchanted Book found in the Ancient City that allows players to sneak walk much faster so that they can travel through the expansive Ancient City, safer and faster.
One of the reasons that players will want to try and stay as quiet as possible in the Ancient City is because of the abundance of Sculk Sensor blocks. Sculk Sensors will detect any sound, and theseSculk Sensors will alert the Sculk Shrieker block if it’s within 8 blocks. The Sculk Shrieker block has four bone prongs, and is the block players need to be the most cautious of, as this is the block that spawns the Warden once it’s been activated.
The smartest thing to do in the Ancient City is to be cautious and look out for Sculk Sensors and Sculk Shriekers before trying to open chests. The best thing to bring to the Ancient City will be plenty of Hoes, asthe Hoe can almost instantly destroy Sculk blocks, including Sensors and Shriekers. With a Hoe, players should snuff out any nearby Shriekers with wool and then destroy the Sensors, as the Shrieker cannot activate without a nearby Sensor.
The last thing players might want for the Ancient City is a Potion of Night Vision. This is a 3-minute potion that players can craft, which will allow them to see in the dark without having to place torches everywhere. This is going to be great for the Ancient City, since the Ancient City is extremely dark, and players might miss Sculk Sensors/Shriekers without it, or risk activating them by placing torches. Here’s how to use the Brewing Stand to craft the Potion of Night Vision:
It’s also a good idea to set up a small base in the Ancient City away from Sculk Sensors so that players have a bed that they can respawn in just in case they are killed by the Warden.
How to Beat the Warden in Minecraft
It’s worth noting immediately that the Warden isn’t a mob inMinecraftthat players are going to beat in a fight. Players should never try and fight the Warden, as it has 250 Hearts and deals 8 Hearts of damage with every attack, meaning this is a fight that players will never win. If players are unfortunate enough to spawn a Warden, then thesmartest thing to do is to run away. The reason players shouldn’t dig down or build up is that the Warden fires a ranged attack that can go upwards and through walls for over 26 blocks.
While the Warden is spawning, it will not detect players, so as soon as players activate a Sculk Shrieker, they should run in the opposite direction. The Warden can hear things from 20 blocks away, and tracks with smell, so20+ blocks away is the safest players can be. TheWarden will despawn after 60 secondsif it has not detected a player through scent or sound. Players will now know they are safe because the Darkness Effect will be removed, and while this effect is annoying, it can be countered somewhat by increasing the brightness in the settings and by placing torches to find a safe route away from the Warden.
What Loot Can Be Obtained in the Ancient City?
The Ancient City is filled with unique chests that can be obtained to find some truly valuable loot, making the dangerous trip inside the Ancient City well worth it. Listed below are some of the most important and valuable loot that players will be able to find in the abundance of chests:
